Beatles Records & Letter, 1970
Watch
GUEST:
In the late '60s, my dad headed up Capitol Records during a time when the Beatles were their major act. It's also the time when the Beatles were starting a new record label called Apple Records. I have some memorabilia from that era.
APPRAISER:
Here is your father...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
...Paul, and who's this guy?
GUEST:
Yeah, that would be me, yeah.
APPRAISER:
And what's great about this photograph as well is it's actually signed by Paul. And it says, "Love from the Cincinnati district." So he's making a little joke about his jacket. Just great. So what are these four here?
GUEST:
Well, this was from a box set that my dad brought home, I think advertising the release of Apple Records. So it was a promotional set.
It used to come in this really nice plastic box that contained these four different folders. But the box has since... I have all the pieces, but they're in shards now. Each of these have these unopened... I don't know if they're 33s or 45s, and they look like they've got hand-penned descriptions of "Hey Jude" and the various artists. Mary Hopkins, I think she recorded "Those Were the Days, My Friend."
APPRAISER:
What's pretty fascinating about this, the cover of the box here, it's to your father.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
"Our first four." They had a very close relationship obviously with your father. Here's a great photo of them with your dad. These four records represent the very first release of Apple. We have this side-- "Revolution," the Beatles-- the other side, "Hey Jude," the Beatles, and it's hand-written, as are all of these. Pretty amazing stuff, and obviously custom-made. Also, you have this wonderful letter here, which is basically a thank you for the gifts that your father sent to them. And it's dated January 21, 1970. And what's pretty amazing about that is that literally three and a half months later, the Beatles are no more. And at this point in their collective life, it's pretty contentious. They're really not talking to each other much. And none of us here had ever seen something signed by all four of them dated 1970. It's incredibly rare. Stuff like this is quite unique, and it's colorful, it's in beautiful condition. Unfortunately, the box has been destroyed, but the records are pristine. And we think that an insurance value for something like this, the collection, about $60,000.
GUEST:
Excuse me?
APPRAISER:
$60,000.
GUEST:
Holy mackerel.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
